The generation and transmission of signals invariably involves the introduction of noise into signals, which degrades the quality of the signals and may prevent accurate decoding of the signals. A determination (or an accurate estimate) of the noise contained in the system is useful for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio of a received signal. Wide-band code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems, such as base stations and mobile terminals, employ a turbo decoder, which uses signal noise power values to enhance accurate decoding of the degraded signals that the WCDMA systems receive. Furthermore, WCDMA systems control power transmission by measuring the received Signal-to-Noise power Ratio (SNR). Accordingly, an accurate estimate of SNR improves the power control and subsequently increases the system performance and capacity.
An appreciation of the present invention and its improvements can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, which are briefly summarized below, to the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments of the invention, and to the appended claims.